Delft Hitmanics is a student run club at TU Delft that started with a baseball team in 2009 and expanded with a softball team in 2013. The club currently has one baseball team and one softball team that play in the men’s league of the Dutch national baseball and softball association.
Since the modern form of baseball developed in North America in the late 19th century, the popularity of the sport has crossed many international borders. This is reflected in the makeup of Hitmanics’ teams with members past and present representing places like South Korea, Mexico, the US, Germany, Cuba and the Netherlands. This international makeup also reflects the inclusive nature of Hitmanics. “We are open to both experienced and new players, male, female, national, international or any other flavour you come in,” their website states.
Heyi Zhang, a master’s student from China, said joining Hitmanics is one of the best things she did when she came to the Netherlands in 2012. “For international students, we live too far away from our families,” she stated, “so friends become a very important part in our lives.” Zhang noted that she thinks all of the team members are very friendly. They train together every week, play games together every weekend during the season, and socialize outside of the sport sometimes. “I feel really lucky to know these people,” she added.
Members of the club include both experienced and new players. Experienced players can choose which team they wish to play on. Inexperienced players will be taught the game and generally start on the softball team, which plays at a relatively lower level. “It may be a little bit difficult at the beginning,” said Zhang. “For example, throwing a ball in the direction you want is not as easy as you thought it should be, but after some time of practicing, you will get it.”
Off the field, members of Hitmanics often meet for social events including barbecues, nights out or watching baseball games together. Victor van Spaandonk, a master’s student who is Commissioner of Public Relations for the club, said that with about twenty members it is relatively easy for people to really get to know each other. “We have regular dinners and drinks,” he stated, “but we also do other sports like golfing. And at the end of the season we watch the American MLB World Series till early in the morning.”
Because of the number of internationals, all trainings and communications are done in English. For more information on Hitmanics visit www. http://hitmanics.nl/.
This is part of our ongoing series Meet The Society which highlights different student groups and societies at TU Delft. If you’d like to suggest an organisation for us to cover, please email us at deltainternational@tudelft.nl.
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